


Apotheosis

by Saibri



Category: Final Fantasy XIV
Genre: Angst, Character Death, F/M, Flashbacks, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Musical WoL, Patch 5.0: Shadowbringers, no beta we die like men
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-07
Updated: 2019-09-09
Packaged: 2020-08-11 09:57:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 5
Words: 4,679
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20151769
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Saibri/pseuds/Saibri
Summary: He watches and it hurts.Sometimes it hurts a little less.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Mostly going to be one-shots for Emet-Selch/WoL. Tags and rating are subject to change because in the end, I am a filthy trash goblin and I love Emet

It’s nearly unbearably hot in the Crystarium with the true sunlight glaring down.

Emet-Selch watches the Warrior of Light from the safety of a balcony above her. He doesn’t think she’s aware of his presence, which is perfectly fine. He doesn’t think he could bear the weight of her smile or the way the light would hit her eyes anyways.

He’s been following her since the early morning. He watched her play and pet the amaro mounts the beastmen kept. Watched her grin and coo at the animals just to get them to trill back at her happily.

_ She  _ had always loved animals as well and the animals had loved her in return.  _ She  _ who had lovingly created the same beasts the Warrior loved visiting every morning when she was in the city. Even some of the wild beasts became tame around her.

It made sense in some twisted way. The animals  _ she  _ made would flock to their creator’s soul no matter how sundered it was currently. Souls always knew.

Now he leans against the railing and watches her strum the harp she had produced from that bottomless pit of a bag. At some point she managed to collect a gaggle of children and a few adults with her show.

The tune is soft and serene, quite pleasing on the ears. It’s one he heard dozens of times when the world was whole. He was the first one to hear it after all.

_ “Hades! Come here!” Her excited voice pulls him from the Concept paperwork in front of him.  _

_ “Hades!” More insistent this time. _

_ He can hear a soft noise floating through their home. One he’s never heard before. He follows the sound to the room she normally works in. Sunlight streams in from the windows, hitting her brilliant white hair just right. _

_ She looks radiant and he can’t help but stare, which only makes her laugh. “Hades, my love.” Her soul reaches for him and curls around him, warm and full of love. So much love. It only heightens when he lets his wrap around hers as she begins to play the small instrument in her lap. _

_ When she begins to sing along with her tune, he almost feels like his heart is breaking with how much he loves her. He knows she can feel it as well. How could she not with their souls entwined as they were. _

His eyes close as the memory rolls over him like a tidal wave, his heart breaking for entirely different reasons now.

Souls always knew after all. It didn’t matter if the woman below him was the spitting image of  _ her.  _ His  _ Persephone _ . Brilliant white hair and violet eyes.

It catches him off guard when the Warrior begins to sing.

Of course.

Of course, she would have those beautiful vocals as well.

_ He found her in a park, sitting beneath one of the pink and white petaled trees she had made. Cherry blossoms, she called them. _

_ She held her harp close, slender fingers picking at the strings for the three children at her feet. Their guardians stand nearby and he can feel their smiles and happiness from here. She wasn’t singing, but humming along. _

_ She only sang for him. _

_ He feels the thrumming of her soul as it reaches out to him. “Emet-Selch.” Her voice is soft, barely heard above the song she played. She smiles behind her mask and he can feel it in her soul. She’s so very happy to be here and to see him. _

The memory breaks when he feels eyes on him. She’s looking up at him with curious glint in those violet eyes.

He only arches a brow at her, waving his fingers dismissively. As is his custom. It’s so much easier to act superior to her than to let her know just how horribly in love he is.

Even if he’s in love with a ghost. She is not  _ her. _ She never will be and he knows this and yet he cannot help but  _ want. _

Perhaps that’s why he’s waiting at her door later that night when she retires for the night.

“Emet-Selch?” She’s obviously confused as to why he’s shown up at her door without an invitation.

A silent shake of his head is all he can give her before he threads a gloved hand through the silky strands of white hair to tip her head back and press his lips to hers.

She doesn’t respond for a moment, but when she finally does, it lights him on fire. In the moment, he loves being aflame. He takes more by dragging her up against him, pressing her back against the door.

It must have ripped her from whatever trance she was in because he was suddenly pushed away by small hands, both of them gasping in the quiet hallway.

Her eyes are wide as she stares at him, her hand touching her lips gently.

“I-” He cuts himself off when the words get stuck in his throat. “My apologies, hero.” He vanishes in a cloud of shadows before she can get a word in.

He steps out into the one thing that makes him ache more than seeing her.

Amaurot. A mirage of shades and beloved buildings lovingly and painstakingly made by him. It was almost perfect.

Golden eyes lifted to the tree he stood under, the pink petals tinged with green and blue beneath the water.

Silk covered fingers touch his lips, still feeling the brand he had foolishly marked himself with.

His heart  _ hurt. _ Everything  _ hurt. _

He fell to his knees as a sob wrenched its way out of his throat. A hand reached out to keep himself from curling into the grass like a child as he did the one thing he hadn’t done in eons.

Not since he had found  _ her _ lying in the streets of their beloved city.

He wept.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry ;-;
> 
> btw, I totally had it in my head that she's singing/playing La Vie En Rose


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Amaurotine!WoL meets Emet-Selch for the first time

How did he let Elidibus and Lahabrea talk him into this? He can barely remember, but he knows they used their silver tongues in some fashion.

All he knows is he stands before a group of Amaurot’s finest. Of their generation at least. He recalls they’re quite a bit younger than he, by how much he isn’t sure. They look like babies, excitable babies.

They’re talking amongst themselves, quietly at least. Save for one. One has drifted away from the group to stare at the large tanks of fish and other marine animals in this section of the building.

He can feel nothing coming from their corner of the room. Their soul is soft and quiet, pulled in close. Most likely to keep from letting their emotions be free like their group, their excitement nearly stifling. It’s hardly a wonder that they would choose to be walled off.

“Seeing as we’re all here and ready. Shall we begin?” A dozen heads turn and lock eyes onto him the moment he speaks, another thrum of excitement rolling through them. He cannot help but smile before going over the points Lahabrea had shoved into his hands earlier.

He speaks for a while, stopping to answer questions and let a debate strike up between a few of them before he quiets them and urges them to perhaps take it to the Hall of Rhetoric later in the day.

It isn’t until he’s nearly done speaking that he  _ finally _ notices the barest touch of a soul up against his. Which one is doing such a gesture to  _ him.  _ A member of the Convocation? Golden orbs lift from the paper he’s been staring at in silence for far too long now, blindsided by the presence.

His eyes land on the one who had been silent this entire time. So much for walling off their presence.

He’s only a little sorry for their reaction when he cracks the door open and lets them in, letting his amusement be known to them.

He feels their shock course through him, snapping away from him so violently that the person next to them reels away in shock. A questioning thrum rolls through the group at the sudden commotion at that end, heads turning to gawk.

There isn’t any need for him to reach out to try and assess how they feel. He knows they are embarrassed by such a display.

A bell sounds through the hall, alerting him to the time. “Well, I think that’s enough forcing my voice on you. You are all free to go.” He busies himself with collecting the papers as they file out of the hall, speaking about the lecture. All of them, save one.

“Emet-Selch?” A soft, feminine voice causes him to look up from the stack of papers in his hands. It’s the one who had dared to reach out to him during the lecture. Her hands are folded in front of her form, her head bent to stare at the floor.

“Yes?” He rounds the podium slowly to lean back against it, his Convocation robes annoyingly catching at the corner.

It takes her a moment to collect her words, her gaze lifting to meet his. Now that he is truly looking at her he can see the peculiar shade of purple staring back at him through her mask. It really is a lovely shade.

That thought is quickly stomped down when she speaks.

“I wanted to apologize for such an intrusive display. I was so caught up in what you were saying and the others had very good arguments. Not that I agree with them mind you, but that’s not why I’m here.” She shakes a hand dismissively, trying to stop the rambling.

“I just wanted to say that I’m sorry. Your lecture was very good and I’ve loved the Akadaemia since I was a child. I actually hope to come here one day and offer what I can to the Concepts housed here. Perhaps even make my own.” He could see her lips curl up into a small smile.

The excitement of such a prospect was leaking through that reinforced wall of hers and it nearly made him smile in return.

“Your own Concepts? Tell me about them then, hm?”

Her shock buzzes through the air before it quieted and she just shook her head.

“I shouldn’t waste a Convocation member’s time with such things.” She shakes her head slowly, hands curling tighter around themselves.

“A Convocation member that could help place you where you wish to go in life.” He knows he should just let her leave, but she’s piqued his interest now. It’s a rare soul that can do such things to him these days.

“I-” Her words halt as she sighs, dipping her head. “Very well.” She holds out a hand as an image appears. A beast sits in her palm, feathers and fur black as night with two horns protruding from its head. The image shifts and it’s taking flight in her hand with four wings flapping to keep it aloft. Amusingly, he hadn’t noticed the long tail behind it until now.

“I would call them amaro, I think.” He can see her smile as she watches the image before it disappears altogether.

“Amaro.” He lets the word roll off his tongue slowly. “Perhaps I could help get you a place here.”

Why is he offering such things to this girl? He doesn’t even know why he entertained the idea of speaking to her about her Concept and here he was offering to find her a place within the Akadaemia.

“What? Really? You would do that?” Her happiness breaks free from the cage she built around her emotions during the lecture and it curls tight around him.

He can  _ see  _ her soul now, so bright and resplendent in her happiness. He wants to do nothing but bask in the warmth of it. He’s glad he chose to offer and he will do everything in his power to get her the place.

“Persephone!” A voice calling out to her breaks him of his stupor. He shoots the offender a glare they can’t see behind his mask and hood, keeps his own soul locked in tight.

“Coming!” She hasn’t taken her eyes off him yet, but she draws away from him slowly, her warmth still latched onto him. “Thank you, Emet-Selch. I don’t know how to express how much it means to me.”

He can only nod in return to her, finally letting something slip from his soul before she pulls away.

She leaves knowing her happiness has pleased him greatly.

He watches her leave, a feeling he has never felt in his entire life gripping his heart tight.

He’s going to have to thank Elidibus and Lahabrea.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Emet-Selch/WoL

He found her out in the forest of Rak’tika after plucking her Miqo’te friend from the Lifestream. Not so much as a thank you, by the way. He would have to remind her of such, but that could wait until later.

He was more curious as to what she was looking at. She was standing in the very same place he had earlier that day, staring up at absolutely nothing.

“Are you quite alright, hero? The light hasn’t gone to your head has it?” He plastered on his trademark smirk, a brow lifting in question.

She frowned momentarily, finally deigning to turn and face him directly. “No, Ascian. I am perfectly well. I was merely trying to figure something out, but I can’t do it myself.” She shot him a pointed look.

“And you’re looking to me to help you out, hm? Well, let’s hear it and I shall determine whether it’s worth my time or not.”

What she didn’t know was that no matter what she asked of him, he would try his best to give it to her. Like a lovesick fool.

“I wanted to know what color my soul was.”

_ “Hades?” Persephone spoke up in the darkness one night when they were still tangled up in one another, physically and spiritually. _

_ “Yes, love?” A hand swept through the white hair framing her face, golden eyes locking with violet. _

_ “What color is my soul? We can see others when allowed, but we can never see our own.” _

_ Hades breathed out a laugh, pressing his lips to hers one final time before speaking… _

“Your soul is the most brilliant blue I have ever seen. It’s so bright that I’m afraid to truly look at you. Sometimes it even changes depending on your mood. When you are upset it darkens and impossible as it seems, when you are happy and I mean truly happy, it gets even brighter.”

She seemed stunned by such a forthright answer from the Ascian, but how could he lie to her now? How could he lie when his heart constricts every time she so much as glances his way?

He couldn’t and that was a massive flaw.

When she still hasn’t responded to his words, he pouts. Hard. “What? Not good enough for you, hero?” That gets a reaction out of her.

“No, it was. I just didn’t expect such an honest answer, It was almost as if-” She cut herself off with a shake of her head, her earrings jingling quietly.

“Don’t say I never gave you anything then, yes? Perhaps you best be getting back to your people. I wouldn’t wish for them to think I’ve spirited you away and killed their precious Warrior of Light. Or is it Darkness now? I can’t seem to keep up.”

She scowled briefly at such a flippant remark. “Yes, I suppose I should. They want to celebrate. You should come join us when you aren’t planning something diabolical.”

“But I am always planning something, dear hero. Run along now.” He shooed her with a dismissive hand, turning to stare out into the seemingly endless canopy.

When he didn’t hear her leave a heavy sigh left him and he slumped over like a goobbue suddenly fell atop his shoulders. “Is there something else you wanted, warrior?” He eyed her warily when she stepped closer and reached out with a hand.

“I wanted to thank you, Emet-Selch. For saving Y’shtola and for entertaining my silly question.” A hand tentatively brushed the lock of white hair from his face as she stood on her tiptoes to press her lips to his.

It didn’t last long enough for him to return the sentiment, standing there stupidly as she nodded once before fleeing back to the safety of Fanow and her Scions.

How long he stood there, he wasn’t certain, but he was certain that he was already in too deep with her.

He was a fool.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Amaurotine!WoL/Emet-Selch

He was  _ bored. _

A hand scrubbed over his face, pushing the mask and hood away with a dramatic sigh. Today was the day Concepts from those few Amaurotine citizens he took a special interest in crossed his desk. Unfortunately, it seemed the closer he got to the bottom of the stack, the more and more  _ boring  _ their work was becoming. It wasn’t often he regretted his choices, but  _ now  _ he was.

A frustrated growl ripped from his throat the moment he opened the current folder, the diagrams for a very  _ boring  _ looking contraption glaring up at him. In truth, it might have been a great project, but it wasn’t something he was truly invested in so he tossed it to the side to join the dozen other projects that made him want to rip his eyes from their sockets.

He glared at the remaining folder, willing it to burst into flames so he didn’t have to deal with it, but of course it never did.

Another sigh left him as he reached for the folder, flipping it open without a care, loose papers falling out into his lap.

_ Wait. _

He knew these drawings. That girl from the lecture he gave  _ years  _ ago. This was the first thing he’d heard about her since the day she formally became a researcher for the Akadaemia. He continued reading what she had written on the pages, marking down every little detail of the creature she planned on bringing into this world.

Amaro. That’s what she had called it.

His eyes scanned for the date she marked for its birth. Today.

“Seems like today just got a lot more interesting.” He fit the papers back into their places, snapping the folder closed as he rose up from his chair, pulling his hood over his hair and fixing the mask back into place.

It was an easy thing to snap his fingers and plant himself just inside the Akadaemia doors, earning a few glances from people nearby.

Eyes seemed to follow him as he walked through the halls, their curiosity getting the better of a few of them. The air seemed to vibrate around him. He knew he didn’t come here often, never having a reason to do so in his role as the Architect.

At least they were easy to ignore as he strode past them in search of the workshop he was looking for.  _ Persephone.  _ Her’s was a name that he never forgot even after all this time.

In the end, he had to ask for directions to her workshop in this damned maze of a building.

At least this seemed to be a quieter section of the building, the constant buzzing of aether and creatures above grating on his nerves. Although, now that he was enjoying the silence he  _ could  _ hear someone yelling behind one of the doors.

Behind the door he needed to go through.

He stared at the door, listening to the frantic yelling.

“Hythlodaeus! It absolutely  _ has  _ to be like this. I didn’t ask you to come watch so you could put your two coins in.”

He could hear a male voice calmly answer in return, the words too quiet for him to actually hear.

“You’re my best friend and I wanted you to be here. No one else will be after all.” Did she sound more upset about that than anything else? He’d never get his answer as the door gave him away.

“Emet-Selch wishes to be let inside.”

Alarm flared through the walls, the silence deafening. He smiled behind his mask as he felt her brush up against his soul, testing the waters before it jerked away.

“Persephone! Your mask!” He heard the male speak as the doors opened to reveal the two of them sitting atop a large table as they fixed their masks and hoods.

“I do hope I’m not interrupting anything. I heard there was going to be a birth of a Concept today.” He took a moment to look around the workshop, taking in all the brightly colored plants and even a large tree with pink and white petals gracing each branch.

“Not at all. It’s a pleasure to have you here, Emet-Selch. I was just about to get started actually.” She was nervous to have him here. He could feel it coming off her in waves even from his place next to the door. Her friend was merely curious, but very subtle about it.

She slid off the table with a sigh, turning to look once more to her friend. “Go on, Persephone. This is why you’re here.” He reached out to touch her arm gently, urging her towards the clear side of the room.

Emet-Selch remained silent as he watched her move, taking in every little detail. She seemed to regain some confidence when she wasn’t looking at the Convocation member, no doubt trying to put him at the back of her mind.

The silence continued as she held a hand out before her, aether beginning to crackle around her fingers.

“Come on. He’s just another person.” He could hear her speak to herself quietly, the words just barely heard over the increasing sound of crackling aether.

Utter disappointment was slowly creeping through him the longer it took her to form the aether to the proper standards, but the moment the room began to glow a brilliant,  _ brilliant  _ blue it evaporated entirely.

It was clear she was pouring her entire soul into this creature and she was  _ beautiful.  _ She kept herself so small, he’d never truly noticed the color of her soul. Even her strength nearly rivaled his own.

He barely even noticed when her creation appeared before her. All he noticed was that she never pulled herself back into the cage she deemed to put herself in. 

She was so  _ happy  _ and it radiated off her. Even the amaro seemed to be soaking up the mood in the room, hopping up and down with excited trills. It nuzzled its creator with a rather loud purr, the sound only growing louder when she began to stroke the black feathers.

“Well done, Persephone.” Her friend was the first to make a move, coming to stand next to her to pet the amaro.

“Thank you, Hytholodaeus.” Emet-Selch can hear the smile in her voice, can see it when she turns to give him an odd look. He knows he’s just standing there like a statue, but can’t seem to get a grasp on his limbs.

He just barely chokes out a few words, finally forcing himself to move towards them. “I have to agree with your friend here.” He offered her a smile, which she returned instantly along with a brush of her soul.

He felt like his own would burst into flames just by being in proximity to her. The absolute radiant light of  _ her. _

He reached out to pet the amaro, the bird making a happy noise from his ministrations. It even took a step closer to him, shoving its head further into his hand.

“Thank you, Emet-Selch. I’m actually glad you were here for this considering everything.” She motioned towards the room with her free hand, still absentmindedly stroking the soft feathers of her amaro.

He let his aether slip out towards her own, brushing up against it gently almost like a lover’s caress. It was completely unprofessional of a Convocation member, but he couldn’t find it within him to care.

“Nowhere else I’d rather have been, Persephone.”

And maybe, just maybe, he was okay with that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This got so out of hand and it was getting ridiculous. Not totally happy with it, but here we are.
> 
> Also, a big thank you to all of you that have commented, gave kudos, and bookmarked. You are the reason writers keep doing what they do


	5. Chapter 5

He never wanted this.

He never wanted to have to beat her down into submission. To watch her writhe in agony as the claws of darkness closed around her, spearing and twisting her broken form. Despite his righteous fury, an unwanted mournful sound left him as he watched her give into the darkness in his grasp. Felt every ounce of fight left her.

The famed Warrior of Light brought down by an Ascian an entire world away from her home. It should have been a great victory for him, but all he felt was sheer despair. He hadn’t had to watch her die before, but now she laid broken before him. 

By his own hand.

The world shifted around them, the broken remains of their city appearing in the light of day. He takes the form of Solus once more, wearing his Convocation robes instead of those of the Garlean Emperor.

“Did I not warn you, hero?” The mask of boredom and disappointment doesn’t betray his true feelings. The traitorous mortal heart thunders in his chest, twisting in his own grief.

She doesn’t give him an answer, he didn’t truly expect her to in her state. Her broken body unmoving in the dirt, save for the shallow and utterly sickening breaths that lifted her chest. He swept towards her without a word, towering over her as he spared a glance to her downed friends.

Golden eyes locked onto the orange-haired child, the only one who managed to rouse. She made no sound as watery blue eyes remained on her beloved hero. She certainly knew what was happening to the Warrior, already seeing the aether in her fallen form dissipating.

A hand yanking the hem of his robe jerked his gaze to the fallen hero, gold meeting violet. The look on her face surprised him, shock mixing with the grief. She was looking at him the way  _ She  _ had.

Her hand only curled tighter around the black fabric as he shifted to kneel beside her, lips curling into a soft smile before she spoke, the voice coming from her lips not her own.

“My dearest Hades, my eternal love.”

Six words at the end of the world was all he got before the light in her eyes vanished, the hand on his robes nearly falling back to the ground before he caught it and hauled her limp form into his.

How was it that his already broken soul seemed to shatter further?

“Persephone.” He sobbed her name out into the crook of the Warrior’s neck, a hand pushing into the thick white hair to hold her tighter against him.

“What have you done, Ascian?” The surly Hyur’s voice broke through his grief, white-hot rage licking through him. Golden eyes lifted to fixate on her “friends”, lips curling into a snarl.

“What have I done? You are the fools who pushed her until she could go no further!” He stood as he yelled, hauling her up with him. He wasn’t going to give them the satisfaction of giving her back. Not now.  _ Not ever. _

“I will complete my work and if the coming Calamity does not kill you all, I will do it myself. Now leave my city and never return.” He turned his back on them, stepping through his own dark portal to come out in the park where she used to play.

“My love, I will bring you back. I’ll bring them all back.”

He laid her to rest beneath a tree of her own making, a wreath of blossoms atop her head. Her harp leaned against the stone bearing her true name, waiting patiently to be strummed once more.

How long he stood there, he wasn’t sure, but by the time he turned to leave his tears had stopped and he had a plan. He left with a shattered heart and a promise to return often.

Until he returned he had work to do.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry :-;


End file.
